Crunchy Asian Salad

I was grilling some Teriyaki Finger Steaks (see post above) and wanted an Asian-flavored side dish to accompany them.  I went to Pinterest to see if there was a salad I'd like to try and discovered this tasty sounding salad.  I will tell you that not all recipes I find on Pinterest are good, but this one was certainly "blog worthy!"

This salad is easy to prepare and assemble, plus it's crunch is somehow satisfying!  Although I found the recipe through Pinterest, it originated at kraftrecipies.com.  This Asian salad got one 8 and three 9's on the Melnarik rating scale!

As I didn't want the almonds to be added to the salad warm, I decided the first step would be to toast them.  I put them in a small, dry saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally at first.  I had to keep my eye on them, because once they burn, they have to be discarded.

When I began to really smell the almonds (toasting them really brings out the almond aroma) I began stirring constantly until I was satisfied with the amount of toasting.  If you compare the two pictures above, you can see that they have become more opaque and some have actually browned.  This is the perfect blend.  I removed them from the heat and spread them out on a paper towel to cool.

In a small bowl, I combined 1/4 cup vinegar, 3 tablespoons water and the salad dressing mix as directed  on the envelope of the Good Seasons Italian salad dressing mix.

To that, I added the sugar and soy sauce, mixing well.

In a large bowl, I placed the coleslaw mix and added the toasted almonds, the sunflower seeds and green onions.  Using salad tongs, I tossed these ingredients to combine them.  At this point, the majority of the nuts ended up on the bottom of the bowl, but I knew they would be distributed evenly once I added the dressing.

Next, I discarded the seasoning packets from the ramen noodle packages and broke up the noodles.  Then I added them to the cole slaw mix, tossing to combine.

Before adding the dressing, I gave it another quick whisk, as some of the ingredients had separated a bit, and tossed it into the salad.

This was the perfect side dish for my Teriyaki Finger Steaks, but would make a great dish to take to a potluck meal.  My son took leftovers to work the next day and said it was still crunchy!  Also, the ingredients can be prepared the day before and tossed the day you serve it to save you time!  Enjoy!

Crunchy Asian Salad

1 envelope (.7 oz.) Good Seasons Italian Dressing Mix

½ cup sugar

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 packages (3 oz. each) ramen noodle soup mix

1 package (16 oz.) coleslaw blend (cabbage slaw mix)

4 green onions, sliced

½ cup dry roasted or unsalted sunflower kernels

½ cup sliced almonds

Place almonds in a small saucepan and toast over medium-high heat, stirring constantly until almonds are lightly browned and the almond aroma is more pronounced.

In a small bowl, prepare dressing mix according to package directions.  Stir in sugar and soy sauce.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, place coleslaw mix, onions, sunflower kernels, and almonds.  Discard seasoning packets from ramen noodle packages and break up noodles; add to coleslaw mix.  Add dressing; toss to coat.

How to make ahead:

Prepare dressing; refrigerate up to 24 hours before using.  Noodles can be broken and placed in a zip lock bag with the sunflower kernels and almonds and stored at room temperature.  Everything is ready to toss together!